The Scottish media this week has started to rather resemble Argentina under General Galtieri’s military junta – everywhere you look are the ghosts of the disappeared.
Here’s Daniel Sanderson in the Times in January this year, complaining that too few university students come from poor backgrounds and therefore the SNP are bad:
So he’d be chuffed if that situation improved, right?
In case you don’t know, Alan Roden is the former Scottish Daily Mail politics editor who’s now Scottish Labour’s director of communications. We haven’t edited this pic in any way, those genuinely are two consecutive tweets he posted yesterday.
Earlier today we reported on the mysterious failure of the Herald to notice that its front page lead story about supposedly poor ScotRail punctuality figures made a number of serious errors with regard to the facts, most notably confusing the excellent figures for last month with a 12-month rolling average which was significantly worse.
But as we read the rest of the papers, we noticed the oddest thing.
We’re back in the archives again today, because there’s still no news. (The Herald is desperately trying to whip up outrage over trains arriving 61 seconds late, and David Torrance has finally turned up at the “OMG YES MOVEMENT SPLIT” party just as the last stragglers are heading home and the hosts are going to bed.)
And we’re particularly enjoying this one, for a whole list of reasons:
In the continuing summer absence of any sort of Scottish politics news (the Sunday papers consist of Michelle Thomson understandably taking a swipe at the SNP in the Sunday Post, the Sunday Times spluttering in impotent fury that Michelle Thomson wasn’t prosecuted, and the Sunday Herald giving a glowing write-up to idiot Tory MSP Annie Wells while savaging sections of the Yes movement yet again – this time “older white men”), we thought you might enjoy a piece from the archives.
Discovered by an alert reader, this 1976 Times article features Labour MP for Basildon Eric Moonman discussing the seemingly-imminent prospect of Scottish devolution, to which he was implacably opposed and instrumental in defeating, ultimately leading to the collapse of a Labour government and the election of Mrs Thatcher.
Today’s edition of The Times contains a textbook example of a phenomenon that we highlight regularly: how newspapers gradually unpick their own dishonest headlines to grudgingly admit a truth which is often the polar opposite of the initial claim.
The BBC’s Reporting Scotland is, in our view, directly responsible for at least 80% of Yes supporters’ belief that the UK’s state broadcaster is biased against independence. Almost all of the worst examples of unbalanced or downright dishonest coverage over the last five years come from the flagship teatime bulletin.
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““the “non-existent” union” exists only in the assimilated colonized mind, Hatey, it does not exist in the decolonized mind.” Oct 31, 23:17
sarah on Vibecoding A Better World: ““Does the SNP really want independence?” asks Kevin McKenna. He says they don’t. I wish the Herald had a far…” Oct 31, 21:11
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “THE NEWS WHERE YOU ARE James Robertson (4 June 2014) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhL57cjN8xY” Oct 31, 19:31
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “I’ve been critical of you in the past, Alf, for writing about the “non-existent” union when it very obviously does…” Oct 31, 18:15
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““bleeding from eyes, arse, cock and ears” Steady oan there, Confused. Hoo ye entertain yersel oan the weekend is nae…” Oct 31, 18:09
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: “The usual colonialist doublethink there Northcode, which can readily be reversed to reflect a dominant ‘Unionist’-Scotland rhetoric which disempowers the…” Oct 31, 17:57
WhoRattledYourCage on Vibecoding A Better World: “A few notes on the Scottish poetic, literary, and political crossover scenes: https://whorattledyourcage.blogspot.com/2026/10/this-has-few-expletives-in-it-and-some.html” Oct 31, 16:02
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “Worthwhile, indeed important, watch… Discussion between James Robertson (“the news where you are”) and Alexander Linklater: ‘Imagining Scotland: Walter Scott…” Oct 31, 15:33
Aidan on Vibecoding A Better World: “For those of us familiar with your output, it will come as no surprise that your use of the internet…” Oct 31, 14:52
Confused on Vibecoding A Better World: “You could use the AI to write some more articles. Just sayin – I mean, let it do all the…” Oct 31, 14:20
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “No chemists in ScotGov, TURABDIN. They never even tried to study chemistry, after failing biology so spectacularly.” Oct 31, 13:47
TURABDIN on Vibecoding A Better World: “Is there a right way to recover Scottish independence? Yes there is. The one that works. The problem is the…” Oct 31, 13:35
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Anybody supporting anonymity in such cases needs to support it for both – accuser and accused.” Oct 31, 13:31
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: ““This is the reality” Hmmm. If you continually assert the union doesn’t exist, Alf, best not make reality one of…” Oct 31, 13:27
Hatey McHateface on Faces In Sand: “Yer maw gaun oot agin, James? Mind and dinna question her too closely when she comes hame. Sometimes best not…” Oct 31, 13:19
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: “In law, anonymity in sexual-offence cases is a structural safeguard. It is: – permanent – designed to protect complainers, not…” Oct 31, 13:13
Aidan on Faces In Sand: “Shut up James” Oct 31, 13:08
Northcode on Vibecoding A Better World: “If a strategist wanted to neutralise the independence movement, the most effective tactic would be to replace: – strategic thinking…” Oct 31, 12:32
James on Faces In Sand: “That right, aye? Prick.” Oct 31, 11:14
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Vibecoding A Better World: “May be of interest to some… ‘Shakespearean England and Views of the Irish Language’ – Mícheál Ó Mainnín « This…” Oct 31, 11:11
Alf Baird on Vibecoding A Better World: ““It’s proof, not that it’s needed, that the SNP now sits playing cards at the same table with those they…” Oct 31, 10:00
BLMac on Vibecoding A Better World: “Maybe we’re all being conned. I’ve just realised AI could also mean Actual Idiocy. We’re certainly seeing a lot of…” Oct 31, 09:32
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Hmmm. Implanted in a hyper-realistic, humanoid robot companion, that behaviour might have some very real advantages. You could always change…” Oct 31, 09:30
Ex President Xiden on Vibecoding A Better World: “There is a compeditor to Claude on the market called Nicola. You can ask it anything you want and it…” Oct 31, 08:37
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “Precisely. Coming too, from the same Scottish government that refuses to state clearly what a woman is.” Oct 31, 08:24
agentx on Vibecoding A Better World: “Information commissioner in Salmond case: ” A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Scottish government welcomes the decision of the Court…” Oct 30, 23:23
robertkknight on Vibecoding A Better World: “Sickening indeed, but what can you expect from a pig but a grunt. Talking of pigs… It’s proof, not that…” Oct 30, 22:12
Hatey McHateface on Vibecoding A Better World: “You just don’t get the genocides these days like you used to. Although I guess that once WW3 really kicks…” Oct 30, 20:52
100%Yes on Vibecoding A Better World: “Can’t wait, its has to have genocide and all the nasty bits or no one will believe it. Nobody does…” Oct 30, 20:24
